Brewer reduces primary energy consumption by 30 per cent with the help of NORD drives

European brewer Forst recently undertook a redesign of its brewery in order to align its manufacturing processes with modern energy requirements and emissions considerations. Powered by NORD Drivesystems , the entirely new brew house has assisted Forst in reducing primary energy consumption by 30 per cent.

The build was completed in just 16 months at the 154 year old brewery site in Algund, in the Germanic region of Italy, and comprised five large vats, a newly designed water supply and a malting plant with twelve silos (and three separate storage vats).

NORD Drivesystems supplied geared motors for all the vessels involved in the new brewery. These were assembled according to the specific requirements of each application, from the grinding mill which gently grinds the malt at the start of the brewing process, to the screw conveyor which removes spent grain.

In one of the first stages of Forst's brewing process, malt and spring water is mixed in mash tuns and heated to create wort, which contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.

This process utilises thermally optimised conducting surfaces at the bottom and the frames of the tun. A frequency-controlled NORD helical bevel gear motor, equipped with a temperature sensor, drives the agitator inside the vessel.

In turn the liquid is pumped into the lauter tun, where liquid and solid parts are separated in a fully automated process. Spent grain settles on the floor of this vat, where pressure sensors detect the consistency of the spent grain, and a NORD drive adjusts the machine's speed accordingly, with flow rates between 9 and 14 litres per minute.

A custom-tailored NORD drive unit which combines a motor, industrial gear unit and a helical bevel gear unit ensures the system runs smoothly, continuously monitoring speeds, current consumption and the motor temperature.

Later stages in the brewing process are handled by various NORD drive motors and drives.

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